The annual convention in 1913 was held in Hartford. Mrs. Hincks refused re-election and Mrs. Hepburn was again chosen, with Mrs. M. Toscan Bennett as treasurer. The work accomplished during the year, as reported at the convention, had included the collection of 18,000 names to a petition to the Legislature for full suffrage for women, while campaigns had covered the smaller cities and towns and resulted in the organization of all the State except one county.
The convention of 1914 again took place in Hartford and Mrs. Hepburn, with practically the whole board, was re-elected. The work of the year included a "ward campaign," in which a beginning was made of organizing on the lines of a political party, automobile campaigns completing the organization of the whole State; the first suffrage parade took place in Hartford on May 2. Political work had resulted in obtaining a woman suffrage plank in the Democratic State platform. The total income for the year was $17,779.
In 1915 at the State convention in Hartford Mrs. Hepburn was again re-elected. The reports included accounts of the activities of the sixty-nine clubs and leagues affiliated with the State association. In the Legislature not only had the suffrage measures been turned down but almost all of those favored by the women, owing to the bitter hostility of the Republican "machine," by which it had long been dominated. This convention declared in favor of concentrating on State work, the majority opinion being that it was as yet of no use to work for the Federal Suffrage Amendment. The income for the year was reported as $19,476, this being entirely apart from the money received and spent locally by the affiliated leagues. During the year a petition to submit a State amendment with over 43,000 names of men and women had been collected and presented to the Legislature.[23]
The convention of 1916 was held at New Haven and Mrs. Hepburn was re-elected. The reports showed that the year then ended had been the most active in the history of the association. In the winter of 1915-16 work had been undertaken in the counties whose Representatives had made the worst showing in the preceding Legislature. Miss Helen Todd, who had worked in California in 1911 when its victory was gained, was secured as the principal speaker for a campaign organized for her by Miss Catharine Flanagan of Hartford. Other organizers were Miss Alice Pierson of Cromwell, Miss Katherine Mullen of New Haven and Miss Daphne Selden of Deep River, Miss Emily Pierson remaining State organizer and directing the work. In the spring of 1916 Miss Alice Pierson married Ralph Swetman and during the summer both undertook a house to house campaign, with numerous open air meetings in the smaller towns of Hartford county. The income for the year was $27,442, nearly all of which was expended. The membership of the State association by careful count was 32,366 and the affiliated leagues and clubs numbered eighty-one. During the year a bulletin from headquarters was sent twice a month to each dues-paying member. In June a delegation went to Chicago and marched under the leadership of Mrs. Grace Gallatin Seton in the great parade of the National Suffrage Association that braved the rain and wind on its way to the Coliseum, where the cause of woman suffrage was presented to the Resolutions Committee of the Republican National Convention.
The State convention of 1917 was held in Hartford November 7, 8, and the reports showed that attention had been concentrated on the three measures before the Legislature—a bill for Presidential and Municipal suffrage; a bill for Excise suffrage (a vote in local option), and a resolution for a State constitutional amendment also but both bills were defeated in House and Senate. The amendment resolution, however, secured a majority in the House and as the constitution provides that the House alone shall consider an amendment on its first presentation, this victory insured that it should pass to the next Legislature for final action. Through the whole of 1917 much work also was done for the Federal Suffrage Amendment, deputations being sent to each of the U. S. Senators and Representatives from Connecticut.
The suffragists felt the urge of patriotism and Mrs. Hepburn in the name of the association offered its services to Governor Marcus A. Holcomb. The offer was graciously received though not definitely accepted but requests for clerical help came to suffrage headquarters. In response some 540 hours of work were given by volunteers. A Central War Work Committee, under the auspices of the association, was formed in April, immediately after the declaration of war, the chairmanship held first by Miss Ruutz-Rees, who had been a member of the executive board of the association from 1910. When she was made chairman of the Woman's Division of the State Council of Defense, the chairmanship was taken by Miss Katharine Ludington and other leading suffragists gave their services. The War Work Committee had chiefly to do with food conservation and $5,350 were collected by it for this purpose.
In addition to the money contributed by suffragists for war work, the income of the association for the year was $29,933. At this convention Mrs. Hepburn, who had been strongly stirred by the jailing of the members of the National Woman's Party at Washington, announced her intention of working with that organization and Mrs. Bennett refused re-election for the same reason. Miss Ludington was elected president, with Miss Mabel C. Washburn as treasurer. Mrs. Seton, who had been vice-president since 1910, retained her position and Miss Ruutz-Rees remained. Miss Ludington had shown her qualifications for the State presidency, first as president of the Old Lyme Equal Franchise League, then as chairman of New London county and during 1917 by her organizing and executive ability as chairman of the War Work Committee. At the annual convention of 1918 held at New Haven, she was re-elected. The year had been a peculiarly difficult one on account of the absorption of many women in war work but the income was $30,085, of which $1,879 had been contributed for the oversea hospitals of the National Suffrage Association. The work of the year had been directed towards (1) the Federal Suffrage Amendment and the securing of a favorable Connecticut delegation to Congress; (2) influencing the two major parties in the State to include suffrage planks in their platforms; (3) securing the election of members of the Legislature who would be favorable to ratification.
At the jubilee convention of 1919, held at Bridgeport after the Federal Amendment had been submitted in June, a new constitution was adopted, which provided for the election of five political leaders in addition to the other officers and an organization of the State by counties and districts, looking towards the forming later of a League of Women Voters. During the year there had been a financial campaign, which was carried on under the direction of Mrs. Nancy Schoonmaker, resulting in gifts and pledges amounting to $30,993, of which $25,813 were paid at the time of the convention. The total income for the year was $63,398. Miss Ludington was again elected and most of the other officers remained on the board. After thorough discussion it was resolved that the policy of the association for 1919-20 should be to oppose especially the small group of Republican politicians who had blocked and were persistently blocking the progress of woman suffrage. This resolution pledged the association to a fight against the Republican "machine," which was made with intense determination.
Ratification. The final struggle came in 1920 over ratification of the Federal Suffrage Amendment. Great efforts had been made to obtain a majority favorable to it in the Legislature that would meet in 1919 and had Congress submitted it in time to be voted on at the regular session it would doubtless have been ratified, as both parties knew it was inevitable. It was not passed by Congress, however, until June 4, and by this time the Legislature had adjourned, not to meet again for two years unless called in special session. All that the suffragists were able to do during the winter of 1919 was to press for a Presidential suffrage bill such as had been adopted by a number of States. In support of this a petition signed by over 98,000 women—increased afterwards to 102,000—was presented to the Legislature when the bill came up for consideration. Nevertheless, through the intense hostility of the Republican "machine," the bill was defeated by a single vote in the Senate after having received a large majority in the House.
When Congress finally sent the amendment to the Legislatures most of them had adjourned and would not meet again until 1921. If women were to vote in the general election of November, 1920, ratification would have to be by special sessions. The suffragists of Connecticut were determined that it should be one of the States to hold an extra session. Deputations from the State Association and the National Woman's Party waited upon Governor Holcomb in the summer of 1919 to ask that he call one in order to ratify the amendment. He refused on the ground of a constitutional limitation of the Governor's power. The State constitution provides that the Governor may convene the General Assembly "on special emergencies" and he held that no special emergency existed. The association then concentrated on the Republican State Central Committee and the other leaders whom they considered the chief opponents of suffrage. A petition signed by 478 prominent members of the Republican party was presented to the chairman of this committee on Feb. 11, 1920, by the Men's Ratification Committee—a committee friendly to woman suffrage and anxious for the ending of the long struggle, which had been formed with Colonel Isaac M. Ullman chairman. No effect was produced by this petition nor by an interview with John Henry Roraback, the State chairman, by Miss Ludington, in which he was urged to put Connecticut among the 36 States necessary for ratification, in order that the women might be able to feel that suffrage had been granted them by their own State.